


detoxication

by nausicaa_of_phaeacia



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Daisy Is The Only Marvel Superhero, F/M, Gen, Other, Post-Episode: s03e10 Maveth, Season/Series 03, Toxic Relationships, mentions of Fitz/Simmons, mentions of Hunter/Bobbi, mentions of Lincoln/Daisy, mentions of abuse, not Fitz friendly, not Hunter friendly, not Lincoln friendly, sort of a fix-it fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5735551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three people leave S.H.I.E.L.D. after displaying problematic behaviour.<br/>(If you know my fic history, you'll know who.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	detoxication

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notcaycepollard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notcaycepollard/gifts), [RowboatCop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RowboatCop/gifts), [zauberer_sirin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/gifts).



> This was going to be the build-up for a skoulsonfest2k16 fic, but it ended up not being romantic because I got caught up in fixing the surroundings for my fic. It's probably going to be the first part of a fic series where I add stuff during the skoulsonfest, so you could also consider this a prologue. There's no shipping happening, not really (it's more anti-shipping, actually). Hope you still like it!

1.

Things haven’t exactly been peachy since they’ve returned. Fitz has been shrinking lately, gradually retreating from everything and everyone. It’s not like they haven’t seen similar behaviour on his part before, but this seems different, and they all know – even Jemma seems to see it – that it’s only a matter of time before he’ll be gone. And so it happens that one morning, it’s a Friday, he’s disappeared, without a word, like a mouse. The only trace left is one of those interpretation-heavy mozzarella sandwich things he leaves for Jemma as a breakfast, the crooked, very tiny handwriting on the large white paper napkin next to it saying,

„JEMMA,  
I’M SORRY. I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME. I HAVEN’T BEEN MYSELF EVER SINCE GETTING THROWN INTO THE OCEAN. MOST OF THE TIME, I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT I’M DOING. I’M SORRY FOR MAKING OUR TIME TOGETHER ABOUT ME. WHEN YOU CAME BACK FROM YOUR UNDERCOVER MISSION, YOU NEEDED A FRIEND, AND I DEFINITELY WASN’T BEING FRIENDLY WITH YOU BACK THEN. I BLAMED YOU FOR EVERYTHING, EVEN THOUGH YOU COULDN’T HAVE DONE ANYTHING. I KNOW YOU’D BEEN SITTING NEXT TO MY BED FOR MONTHS. AND THEN, BEFORE YOU DISAPPEARED, YOU SAID MAYBE THERE WAS SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT, AND THAT’S WHAT MADE ME KEEP LOOKING FOR A WAY TO GET YOU BACK, SO I’M GLAD YOU SAID IT. BUT YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE SAID IT. I NEVER DESERVED YOU. I GOT SO JEALOUS OF WILL AFTER YOU RETURNED. INSTEAD OF TAKING CARE OF YOU, I PLAYED THE VICTIM AND MADE YOU FEEL GUILTY FOR TRYING TO RESCUE HIM. I FEEL LIKE I RUINED EVERYTHING, AND I’M NOT SAYING THIS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY. I NEED A CHANGE, I NEED A PLACE WHERE I CAN BECOME MYSELF AGAIN, SO I’M LEAVING. I DIDN’T SAY GOODBYE BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SAY I DIDN’T NEED TO GO, BECAUSE I NEED TO.  
I DON’T THINK THERE’S ANYTHING I CAN SAY TO REALLY MAKE UP FOR THE WAY I BEHAVED, BUT JUST LET ME TELL YOU THERE’S NOT A THING YOU DID WRONG. JEMMA, YOU HAVEN’T CHANGED SINCE THE ACADEMY. I MEAN YOU’VE BECOME BETTER AND STRONGER AND BRAVER, BUT YOUR HEART IS THE SAME. I’VE BECOME A GRUMPY COWARD. I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES, AND THE ONLY THING I ASK IS THAT YOU DO, TOO. AS FOR THE REST, DON’T THINK ABOUT WHAT COULD HAVE GONE DIFFERENTLY. I’M SORRY FOR MAKING YOU FEEL GUILTY. I’M SORRY FOR FORCING YOU TO LOOK FOR OLD LITTLE DORKY FITZ IN ME WHILE I THINK HE’S BEEN ON VACATION ALL ALONG. YOU NEED TO HEAL, JEMMA, AND THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN AS LONG AS I’M AROUND.  
TAKE CARE. YOU’RE THE BRAVEST PERSON I KNOW.  
FITZ“

Daisy can tell Jemma is shaken, so she just puts another pancake on her plate and one hand on her shoulder. Jemma looks up and smiles, but there are no tears.  
„I wouldn’t have wanted him to go. But it’s true, he hasn’t been himself.“  
„He’s been an asshole. Especially to you.“  
„I know. He needs to be somewhere else right now.“  
„You think he’ll come back?“  
„I hope not. I mean – I hope to see him again, but I don’t think this is the place he should be. He’s unable to cope with a changing environment.“  
„Yeah, we’ve had a lot of _change_ over here lately.“  
Jemma chuckles and ferociously cuts into her syrup pancake. „I have no idea what you’re talking about.“

Fitz leaving isn’t the only surprise, though. Coulson seems to only ever spend time with May anymore. Not that Daisy’s jealous, she’s got Lincoln, and she knows the two aren’t really on each other’s radars anymore, but it kind of hurts to see that Coulson’s found someone else to confide in. May’s been left out of his plans long enough, so Daisy guesses it’s only fair, but it’s painful to see your spot being taken by someone else. Lincoln keeps catching her trying to glance at May talking to Coulson, and it makes him antsy, to say the least.  
The team doesn’t really get to have a break from their last mission, though. Less then two weeks after their return, there are multiple TV channels showing a _zombie_ on the streets, wearing Grant Ward’s dead face. It’s scary, to say the least. Daisy knows it’s not him, that it’s impossible for it to be him, but still – since Coulson killed Ward, she’s been nurturing a tiny, but growing little feeling of safety she’d been lacking before, and now, all of it seems gone. She’s staring at the news channel, feeling her limbs get cold and her throat grow sort of _stiff_.

„It’s like playing Nazi whack-a-mole, right?“ Mack.  
„That’s right ... _Director_.“ She grins, and he returns the smirk immediately.  
„We’re gonna get the son of a bitch. Whatever he’s turned into.“  
„We better get Malick, too. Bet that was his plan. Seems like they still know something we don’t.“  
He sighs. The responsibility coming with his change of position is starting to pull him down, she thinks. „Don’t be so hard on yourself, Mack. You’re doing and awesome job.“  
She swears the shiny thing in his eyes is gratitude. „Thanks.“  
„Maybe you should get that axe again. You know what they say about zombies.“  
He straight-out giggles at that, and she doesn’t think she’s ever heard Mack actually giggle.  
„Well, I guess it’s a good thing we kept it, Tremors.“

2.

It takes them two more weeks, though, until they gather enough data to know where HYDRA is hiding at the moment. Sure, they have been following pseudo-Ward for days, but he doesn’t seem to meet up with anyone. It looks like he’s not even being coordinated by anyone.  
„I wonder if they actually planned this,“ Bobbi blurts out during one of their surveillance van trips.  
„You think they’re not even _aware_ of zombie Playboy cover model? Come on, Bob, how the fuck was he supposed to _fly back to Earth_ without help?“ It sounds more aggressive then intended, and Daisy shushes out a „Hunter!“, earning her the ghost of a smile from Bobbi.  
„I’m just saying this doesn’t have to mean that they actually know what they’re doing.“  
Hunter just snorts.

She overhears several small fights between Hunter and Bobbi; they seem to disagree on everything, and Hunter picks a fight every single time. They are arguing wherever they go: in the kitchen, in the training room, on the Bus, inside Bobbi’s bunk (they’re still sharing a bed), during missions. Daisy’s noticed Bobbi getting more and more passive, and it twists her stomach to see _Mockingbird_ take all this shit from a man she once was in love with (she’s pretty sure Bobbi’s not, anymore). Actually, Hunter’s been fueling himself with alcohol like every other time they’re fighting at night; Daisy hears every slurred word of it since her bunk is next to Bobbi’s.  
There’s this one night where things are getting particularly gruesome between the two. Lincoln’s arms are wrapped around her, so Daisy’s trying really hard not to wake him up as she’s leaving the bed. She knows Bobbi’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but Hunter seems to be over-the-top drunk and he’s just yelling at her. She’s creeping towards her bunk door, causing Lincoln to grunt an annoyed „Leave it alone!“. She’s walking over to Bobbi’s door anyway, just waiting for a reason to actually go inside and punch Hunter in the face, because this is just too much. Strangely enough, Bobbi never really seems to yell back, lately; Daisy never hears a sound from her. 

When Hunter’s raising his voice once more, tongue heavy, Daisy’s putting her fingers around the doorknob. He’s going on and on about how Bobbi doesn’t even talk to him anymore, and then, suddenly, after a bunch of really swear word heavy accusations, there’s an unmistakeable slapping sound. Daisy kicks the door down; Bobbis sitting on the floor, back against the bed, her hair a mess and her right cheek burning red. Hunter doesn’t even notice they have company and just continues yelling until Daisy sends him flying backwards against Bobbi’s wardrobe. He passes out instantly. 

It doesn’t take Daisy more than a second to join Bobbi on the floor, hugging her, holding her hand. „I’m so sorry,“ she whispers. „I should have come earlier.“  
Bobbi starts to cry, almost noiselessly. „You know I’m capable of defending myself. I just – I was waiting for him to stop. I thought there would be a moment where he’d realize what he was doing.“  
„He’s not coming back, Bobbi. He’s not the guy you married anymore.“  
Bobbi smiles a little. „Yeah. He sure as hell used to be a different guy. But ... he still loves me.“  
She makes Daisy sigh. „He does, but not the way he thinks he does. He needs to let you go.“  
„But I don’t even know what I feel. Fuck. Sorry. I mean – I’ve been with him such a long time, and you know we’ve been on and off for _years_ now. And you ... you know he can be a good guy.“  
„I know.“  
„It’s just – things have changed. I feel like I have moved on and he hasn’t. Like I’ve become a different person and he’s still stuck in the same place he was when we divorced.“  
„I know.“  
Bobbi’s wiping away her tears. „Thanks.“ They sit for a minute, Bobbi staring at Hunter, his head heavy against the furniture.  
„You’ll sleep in my bunk.“  
„But Lincoln – “  
„He’s gonna go sleep in his own bunk.“

She leads Bobbi towards her own bunk, closing the door and leaving her own door open. She turns on the small lamp on the bedside table.  
„Lincoln.“  
There’s some grumpy mumbling until he opens his eyes, realizing instantly that something’s wrong.  
„What’s going on?“  
„You need to leave. Bobbi needs to sleep here.“  
„I can sleep on the flo – “  
„Please.“  
He’s crawling out of the bed, giving her a very angry and Bobbi a condescending look, and leaves the bunk, extra pillow in tow.  
„Thank you.“ Bobbi looks so fragile, standing next to the closed door.  
„Don’t mention it. Come here. One or two pillows?“  
„One.“

When Daisy wakes up, Bobbi’s looking at her, frowning, deep in thought.  
„Morning.“  
„Hey. Have you been sleeping?“  
„I slept a little.“  
Daisy’s rubbing her face. „What do you wanna have for breakfast?“  
„Daisy – “  
„Yeah?“  
„What now? I mean ... I don’t think I can spend any more time with him. Maybe I should, you know ... leave the team.“  
„What? No!“ She’s sitting up. „Not you, Bobbi. If anything, he needs to go.“  
„I don’t want anything bad to happen to h– “  
„ _Bobbi_.“  
They exchange a very stern look.  
„You got hurt.“  
„It was just a – “  
„He needs to get his shit together. You deserve so much better. He’s been treating you like an object lately and you know it.“  
„He’s had a rough t– “  
„And you? What about _you_? You’ve been through so much crap and the first thing he did was run after Ward. I mean you’re the princess in every fairy tale, Bobbi, but you’re definitely not a damsel in distress, and he sure as hell isn’t your prince. Stop defending him.“  
„He used to be different.“  
„I know. I know you didn’t marry _this_ guy.“  
„... Can I use your shower?“  
„Sure. I’ll get some coffee and croissants, okay? Lock the door.“  
Bobbi’s smile looks just a little better now.

She does turn on the coffee machine, but it’s on her way to Mack’s bunk – the Director’s bunk. She does their partner knock, and a pretty sleepy Mack opens.  
„Director.“  
„Daisy, you okay? Calling me Director at six in the morn– “  
„Can I come in?“  
„Sure.“ He gestures towards the bed, closes the door; his blanket’s still warm from sleeping in it.  
„What happened?“  
„Hunter needs to leave.“  
„What, again? Don’t tell me he’s decided to run after Zombie W– “  
„It’s Bobbi.“  
„What – what did he do?“  
„It’s been going on for a while. You know he’s been drinking too much lately. Bobbi’s bunk is next to mine, and he’s been yelling at her every night.“  
„Can’t say I didn’t know they were having problems, but it seems to have gotten worse.“  
„He slapped her last night.“  
„What?“ He stands up, paces the room. „Where’s Bobbi right now?“  
„My bunk. Door’s locked.“  
Mack lets out a big sigh, and she knows it’s largely relief. He seems to pause for a moment. „Lincoln?“  
„Don’t ask.“  
Mack gives her a nod, sits down next to her.  
„Hunter used to be my friend.“  
„I know. Three Musketeers.“  
„Yeah, kind of. Definitely not anymore, though.“  
„Are you going to kick him out?“  
„I – I don’t think there’s any other solution.“  
„He’s going to get worse, right?“  
„Hell, Tremors, I don’t know. But I can’t have Bobbi leave the team because of this drunk half-wit. He needs to get his shit together. He used to be different, you know.“  
„Bobbi said so.“  
„You should have seen them when they married. The most beautiful couple in the world.“  
„I bet Bobbi was radiant.“  
He smiles. „She was. And they were so happy.“  
She looks down at her hands. „He’s still sleeping in her bunk. I knocked him against the wardrobe.“  
Chuckling. „I’m glad you were there, Daisy.“  
„Should have been there sooner.“  
Mack grabs her shoulder. „You did the right thing. And I will, too. Gonna tell Billy to type this up, make it official. Thank you.“  
„Gonna get Bobbi some breakfast, I made some coffee. Tell me if you need anything.“  
He nods, leaves hastily.

3.

Hunter leaves in the afternoon; you can read the shame on his face, but Daisy doesn’t feel sorry for him. She knows he used to be someone she could have really made friends with, but she won’t forgive him for his recent behaviour. He walks down the hangar, ready to get dropped off, turns around only once, mutters a „Thank you. Sorry,“ and this time, even Bobbi looks unimpressed. „Where’s he gonna go now?,“ Mack asks, putting a hand on Bobbi’s shoulder. „His sister’s, I guess. Used to go there every time he’d fucked up.“  
„I made celebratory pancakes,“ Jemma half-whispers, a smirk on her face, and Bobbi laughs for the first time in weeks.  
Today’s breakfast is the first in months that makes everyone join the table, and you can see Jemma light up as she’s piling pancakes on everyone’s plates. „Where’s ... Lincoln?,“ Coulson asks, his mouth full of syrup, and Daisy can’t help grinning when she tells him, „Still in his bunk. Hurt his feelings.“ They exchange a smile, and it feels like an eternity has passed since the last time they did.  
„How’s the prosthetic, Director? I mean, Coulson. Sorry, Mack.“ Jemma blushes, but Mack just touches her elbow for a moment, his mouth full. „Working really well. Nothing tops your pancakes, though.“ It makes her beam.

A few days later, it looks like they have sufficient intel on HYDRA’s new commando site. Daisy calls Joey to make sure he’ll be arriving in time for the operation. She knows he loves teaching the new recruits, but this calls for the whole team, especially since they’re at least two men short. May’s distributing charts while Mack’s presenting their strategy through holograms. Lincoln’s been trying to take Daisy’s hand, but she’s too involved in helping Mack explain their moves to really notice what he’s doing. Finally, Mack makes them team up, ordering Coulson and Daisy to work together, causing Daisy to cast a shy smile towards Coulson, and Lincoln thinks it looks like he’s seen a saint.  
When they leave the room, Lincoln pulls Daisy towards the wall, and she reluctantly follows.  
„So, you’re really doing this?“  
„What, go undercover with Coulson?“  
„Choose him over me.“  
„Jeez, Lincoln, I’m not _choosing_ him over you. Mack told us to team up, for God’s sake.“  
„You’re doing it again. First Jemma, then Bobbi, now him.“  
„I swear I have no idea what you’re talking about.“  
„They are more important to you than I am.“  
„Why would you even see it that way? They’re _friends_ , Lincoln, and they needed my help.“  
„So he needs your _help_.“  
„It’s a freaking _mission_ , Lincoln. We’re going after the bad guys, remember? Get your shit together.“ With that, she leaves him standing there in the hallway, hurrying after Coulson to get their mission gear.

As they’re about to take off, May does her inspection round. „Where’s Lincoln?“  
Daisy sort of just shrugs. „What did you say to him?“  
„That he was supposed to get his shit together because this is a mission.“  
There’s a snort from Mack. „Well, looks like we won’t have any ground control, but I’m saying fuck this. We’re going to take off now and if he’s gone, he’s gone.“  
He instantly turns around to look at Daisy. „Sorry, girl. No offense. But you know we can’t wait for him.“  
She’s smiling, though. „That’s okay. I don’t really care. We’re done, anyway.“

For the first time in months, there’s cheerful chitchat during the fight, even though they’re on their way to confront HYDRA. Jemma wouldn’t really put her finger on it, but it seems like there’s a connection between people leaving the team and the team smiling more.  
Daisy catches Coulson’s glance during the chattering, and since everyone else is talking, he asks her, „So it’s over?“  
She doesn’t need an explanation to understand what he’s talking about. „Yeah. Things haven’t been going too well. You know it all started out as an attempt to keep him here, and I guess everything was fine for a while, but I don’t think there was really anything ... real to it. Last night was a huge hint, though.“  
„What do you mean?“  
„I was going to check on Bobbi because of all the yelling, and he told me not to. Then I brought Bobbi to my bunk and asked him to sleep in his own bed, and the look he gave me – the look he gave Bobbi ... I don’t want to be anyone who looks at a woman that way after she’s been abused by a man.“  
He nods, takes her hand. „Still, I’m sorry. You deserved better.“  
She sort of beams at him for a moment before looking away a little shyly. „Thanks.“  
Their hands still stay together for a moment.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been so frustrated with canon. Bad writing. Seriously, what's with the white manpain?  
> Hope you liked this even there was no skoulson/zombiquake to be tagged. Tell me what you think :)  
> P.S. Also, I wanted there to be fic during our fic-writing hiatus before the fest. ;)


End file.
